Delicious Disaster
by IceQueenRex
Summary: Hinata has been sneaking out to see a certain Uchiha, Sasuke has to make sure no one finds out and Sakura is willing to lend Neji her Tangerine Splash shampoo and dish out information about his cousin if he'll date her! Uh oh...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Finally, the sequel to Ice Cream And Sake. In my opinion you don't need to read the first story to get into this one as this is a fairly basic beginning to their relationship. Sasuke and Hinata are ALMOST friends but not really just yet. They're basically two people who happen to meet up for lack of anything else exciting to do. Of course if you do read Ice Cream And Sake (which is a three-chaptered story to those who are new) then I guess you'll understand their relationship a little more. As I said, there will be Sakura and Neji also featured in this story but whether they're going to be an actually couple remains to be seen. I haven't fully decided yet. Maybe you wonderful readers should help and tell me. Oh and when you review, please add an $ before you reply so I know just how many people actually read the author's notes. Thanks!

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Delicious Disaster

Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin

Small, calloused feet padded as silently as possible through the main corridor of the Main Branch's Hyuuga Estate. She could hear her father talking to some important Konoha officials in his office – probably someone sent by the Hokage – and crept past the door, praying that her father wasn't going to break one of the House's rules and use his Byakugan within the compound. That was strictly forbidden…for privacy purposes of course. It wouldn't do for some of the less stoic males of the family, despite the fact that they were rare, to peep into the women's rooms…or bathrooms for that matter.

Hinata supposed she had that little advantage when she planned her nightly escapades. She made her way to the kitchens at the back, where the cooks were cleaning up the night's meal. Earlier, she had had her food delivered to her room – like many of the young Hyuugas were adamant on these days – and wrapped it hurriedly, hiding it in her bag for later.

With a sigh of relief, the dark haired girl managed to slip past the aging women unnoticed and sped across the back garden and with a little difficulty, jumped onto a stone feature near the fence and hopped over, landing none too gracefully onto the empty street outside. Oh if her father heard of her doing this he would be absolutely livid. She would probably never see the light of day again! Let alone her recently made companion in her schemes.

About a month had passed since she had first been stumbled upon at that restaurant, eating ice cream, bloodshot eyed and sniffling. And so far, she had no problems whatsoever in sneaking out…except for the guilt that lingered in the back of her mind every time they planned on meeting up. Of course they did not see each other every single day, as that would have aroused too much suspicion on both their parts. But when they did, as awkward and clumsy as it was at times, it was still something enjoyable to do and the extended silences weren't always uncomfortable.

There was a saying that went around Konoha whenever someone had just had a rough break-up. And it stated that it took roughly six months to get over whoever you were with. That was absolute rubbish in Hinata's opinion, and possibly the rest of the population who knew just how long – if at all – it took to stop hurting.

She didn't know what it was that made it hurt so much. She wasn't exactly dumped by Naruto. Because even she had seen, weeks before things ended, that it was not going to work. And one did not exactly need the Byakugan or the Sharingan to see that. They both could see what was coming. And then came that night when he actually brought it up. At first Hinata felt apprehension, like she could not breathe, and then there was understanding, guilt, bitterness, and finally, an odd sense of painful relief.

Of course it still hurt. How could it not?

Fingers curled at a pair of dry lips as the lavender eyed girl pulled the long, cream cardigan around her tighter as the wind seeped through her clothes. She shivered as her shoulder-length hair was blown away from her face, just as she rounded the corner into the livelier centre of town. It suddenly seemed a whole lot warmer and a small smile played on her lips. She had made with with no trouble whatsoever yet again.

"You took your time."

Pale eyes widened and a squeak would have escaped the girl's lips had the raven haired boy not hissed in frustration and grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth and pulling her into the alley between two buildings. She struggled madly against the iron grip, her cries muffled by the boy's palm.

"_Relax!_ It's only me!" he whispered furiously into the struggling girl's ear from behind where he held her. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief through her nose but then tensed as she realised her back was being pressed into a very firm, very warm chest of a certain Uchiha who – apparently not reading her discomfort – was peeking out of the alleyway, probably making sure there wasn't anyone they knew around. Her cheeks burned and she could feel the blush that had rampaged up her face.

With trembling hands, she reached up and gently pulled his hand off her mouth, humiliated at having acted so foolishly and even more so at being in such close proximity with the boy she'd been sneaking out to see for the past month or so. Some things just never changed.

Sasuke let go of her and upon seeing no one suspicious, sighed and leaned against the wall, glaring at her and folding his arms crossly.

"After all this time, I would have expected you to know my voice. What kind of a shinobi are you?"

Hinata winced and bit her lip, lowering her head apologetically, "Sorry…you just s-surprised me…that's all…"

Stygian orbs rolled and the former Avenger shook his head and sighed, a good sign to Hinata considering it meant she was forgiven. Although she could not decipher every bit of him that easily yet, she was getting there...slowly.

Smiling a small smile, she pulled the bag off her shoulder and dug in her pack for the bag of onigiri she had smuggled from earlier and handed one to him, in hopes that it may lighten his mood slightly.

"It's a little squashed…" she told him sheepishly, her fingers curling at her lips, Sasuke's eyes lingering on them a little longer than usual as she did that motion.

Quirking a brow, he took it and bit into it, sending her an acknowledging nod before motioning for her to follow her out. He wasn't usually one to say 'thank you' but Hinata knew what he meant regardless.

"Where are we going tonight?" Clasping her hands casually behind her back as she followed him through the busy streets of Konoha, the girl watched him eat, occasionally looking over her shoulder. Even with the Byakugan, it was still a habit, just like the twiddling of her fingers. Sasuke noted this with recognition, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if taking down her habits for future reference.

"Anywhere."

She pursed her lips. "Hm…" Eyes lighting up she turned to him again. "Uhm…what about the benches?"

He looked thoughtful for a few moments. "We went there last time."

"Oh…yes, that's right…"

He never liked to go to the same place twice in a week, a trait that she found rather strange, but considering the very many strange friends they had, she supposed it wasn't that odd anymore.

Having finished his rice ball, he idly reached a hand back and waited for her to put another one in his hand. Sure it may have seemed like a very spoiled thing to do, but he found that he really could afford to act that way around Hinata. There were very few others who he could be that way around, and even fewer with whom he actually would…actually the young Hyuuga was probably the only one.

Lips twitching slightly, the girl hid a smile and placed another one into his open hands, bringing a sticky finger to her lips absentmindedly soon after.

"They're good," he said blandly, keeping a secretive eye on her to make sure she was following. He was never the sentimental type obviously, but considering those first three encounters that had brought the two oddest people together under questionable circumstances, he found that he couldn't very well just ignore her.

'_Damn, I'm turning into mush…' _he thought sourly to himself. But upon rethinking it, realised that they had first met, ironically because of Naruto. When he had first stumbled upon her crying herself into junk food at that restaurant and ordered her a sake, he had no idea that not only would he be the one to actually cheer her up, but that she would be someone he was willing to socialise with. And the Uchiha _never_ socialised. Who knew that her breaking up with Naruto would turn out to be so convenient for him?

And despite it all, Sasuke had actually begun to talk more, albeit only slightly more than usual, but it was an improvement on his part. Well, Naruto was the only one who had noticed and had pointed it out to him, telling him it was a good thing, but the boy had just grunted in response, leaving a very wry, unsatisfied blond to sigh and finish his ramen.

He suddenly stopped and turned around slowly only to have her bump headfirst into his chest with a squeak. He wanted to smirk when he saw her gather her bearings for a few moments and then look up at him with wide eyes as a bright blush of realisation burned her cheeks and she began spluttering and apologising profusely.

"I'm sorry Sa-Sasuke-san! I d-didn't where I was – I'm – I didn't mean to!"

He knew that if he showed even the slightest bit of amusement, it would only send her into another cycle of blushing, stutters of nonsense and incomprehensible sentences as well as her probably dying in front of his feet because of heart palpitations. And he really didn't fancy having to clean up after a dead person again. They were too troublesome.

"Hinata," he said evenly, thus knocking her out of her explanations and effectively shutting her mouth. Looking down at her with his dark eyes, he asked her wearily, "Must you insist on calling me 'Sasuke-san?'"

The girl opened her mouth to speak but then stopped short and mulled over his words. With a frown, she looked to the side thoughtfully, a finger on her bottom lip.

"Would you prefer Sasuke-kun-?"

"No!" he exploded quickly, causing the girl to jump three feet into the air. He held his hands up and shook his head slowly. "Do _not_ call me that."

Honestly, he had had enough from Sakura and Ino and just about every other girl who insisted on using that detestable suffix and there was no way in hell he was going to add another one to the list.

With a deep, heavy sigh, he closed his eyes, trying to hide the frustration as he spoke in a low, strained voice,

"Just…_Sasuke_…please."

She blushed and looked down at her feet awkwardly. "O-okay…"

Mentally grimacing at his unnecessary harshness, the boy sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder lightly to steer her into walking again. "What else did you bring?" he asked after letting his hand drop to his side when he felt her tense underneath his palm.

"Mm…" she thought for a while, trying to remember the few items of food that she had haphazardly wrapped and dumped into her bag. "I think there was…baked spinach balls and…oh yes, grilled beef slices."

She had him at the baked spinach. Though of course the grilled beef sounded extremely appetising too. And he had not eaten since lunch. Oh how he was hungry. And while the rice balls were good, they weren't enough for an almost fully-grown boy such as himself.

'_Shit I'm starving…and I haven't had good home cooked food in…uh…a…wait…my cooking isn't THAT bad…'_

He pondered on that a while but then admitted defeat and sighed. His cooking left a LOT to be desired. But he ate it anyway. It was that or spend all his earnings on eating out every night. Obviously he chose the former. A sudden realisation struck Sasuke then when he saw that Hinata was still next to him. Lately he had been spending less time eating at home alone because Hinata had actually been thoughtful enough to bring her own food every time they met up. Hm…

Meanwhile, after the long moment of silence, Hinata was becoming a little concerned. Did he not like the food she had brought? Maybe he was allergic to it? All these thoughts plagued her mind and made her feeling more worried by the second.

"Ano…Sasuke-sa – uhm _Sasuke_, do you not want…I mean I c-could buy you some-something else…"

He stopped in his steps, yet again, and luckily this time, Hinata was slightly more prepared and paused shortly as he whipped around and folded his arms authoritatively.

Hinata was vaguely reminded of a very proud and dictatorial man: her father.

"I want home-cooked food."

She stared up at him, puzzled. "E-excuse me?"

Well her father surely never demanded _that_ from her.

"I want home-cooked food."

She blinked.

Sasuke sighed and motioned with his eyes to the bag at her side.

"I want your food."

Oh this was so wounding for his ego, and he grimaced inwardly at being reduced to having to explain like a teacher to a child.

"Oh!" Slightly flustered and embarrassed, she confessed, "I didn't make it…the cooks did…this was s-supposed to be my dinner but…I thought maybe you'd like it."

He frowned. "So up until now, you've been giving me _your_ dinner?"

She nodded.

'_Well that was thoughtful of her,_' he thought, affected by her kindness, all prior thoughts of his wounded pride completely forgotten. But he sulked a second later. _'But I want home-cooked food…like the stuff Mother used to give me.'_

Gathering himself up again, he looked down at her from the tip of his nose and demanded firmly,

"Next time, you cook." A flash of amusement crossed her eyes before she composed her face. Sasuke didn't miss it though, so he added "Please" as an afterthought.

He almost wished he didn't though because a small giggle – most probably directed at him – escaped her even though she tried to muffle the sound with the back of her fist as she nodded, her eyes glittering with laughter.

"That shouldn't be a problem," she appeased, still smiling and pulling out the other two plastic wrapped dishes from her bag and handing them both to him.

He took them both without a word and opened them, but then paused and picked out a baked spinach ball and handed it to her. It would not do at all for her to suddenly collapse in the street. Well, that's what he told himself anyway. At that moment, an idea came to him and he narrowed his eyes and asked her slowly,

"I assume nobody checks on you at night?"

Hinata quickly shook her head. "It's f-forbidden to use the Byakugan w-within the home."

That wasn't exactly what he meant but he took it as a sign she didn't need to be home anytime soon. Well that was a stroke of luck on his part!

"Perfect. You can come to my house and cook now."

She smiled and nodded and began, "Yes alri -" and then paused. "What!?" she gasped suddenly, gaping up at him with large, round eyes.

Well Sasuke never thought the idea was _that_ appalling. But apparently she didn't share the same view as he did on the subject. His lips twitched unnoticeabily

"Problem?" he drawled, secretly smiling victoriously as he turned around and continued to walk, leading her to his apartment as Hinata scrambled after him.

"W-won't it be sus-suspicious? A-and wh-what if – w-wait! I –" she cried, only to be cut off by a very flippant, lofty interruption.

"No one comes to my house. So there's no reason for anyone to be around my area."

He looked back and sent her a pointed look, suppressing the twitch of his lips as he fought not to snort with laughter.

Still, Hinata tried to sway him. "B-but ingredients! We don't ha – "

"Of course I have raw ingredients at home," he said dismissively.

'_What, does she think I spend every single day going hungry? I can cook! Not well, but I know how to! Ugh, women…'_

"B-but-!"

His sigh silenced her and he stopped and turned around, fixing her with a firm stare.

"You didn't bring enough for two. In fact it's hardly enough for one." She bit her lip and looked down guiltily. "I'll make sure you get home at a reasonable time," he added."

When she glanced, she considered him for a few moments, blushing and constantly averting her eyes away from his – a notion which he didn't quite like. It was strange to be asked to come over to his home - a _boy's_ home - and cook for him. She found it not only embarrassing but found herself blushing furiously that he had actually invited her over. Sure it was for his sake more so than hers, and she took pity on that because she knew how little he socialised and had therefore taken it on herself as a sort of duty to be there and help him open up. But still, this was a little much! And she was a Hyuuga girl after all. The _Heiress!_ If this were to be somehow leaked back to the Main Branch's ears, she would be in so much trouble and it would not only be her but Sasuke as well. There would be a lot of explaining and possibly punishment for the both of them.

But when lavender eyes met onyx orbs, Hinata felt that she just could not say no and leave him where he was now. He had asked her, even if he did not think so himself, out of kindness in his own way. And she had always been soft and suddenly began feeling guilty that she had actually thought about disappointing him. With a sigh of surrender, she offered a warm smile and nodded shyly, her cheeks tinged pink.

"O-okay…"

There was really no point in arguing with him, he knew how to get to her in the oddest of ways and make her feel guilty. She was reminded of a child, weaving its way to his mother's heart, and wanted to laugh at how manipulative he could be. She never thought him the sort to resort to guilt tripping and found it rather endearing, especially since it was coming from an Uchiha.

Satisfied, he nodded for her to follow, which she did, that same smile playing her lips, one that almost had the Uchiha himself a little nervous at its unclear meaning. Either way, he knew she was silently laughing at him.

'_Damnit. I'm an Uchiha! People don't laugh at us! We laugh at everyone else!'_

Still, he would be lying if he said he was not relieved that she had agreed. He had never invited anyone to his apartment before. And it was not because it was small or anything, in fact it was a fairly reasonable size for one person. But it was more because he really just wanted some place quiet to sit and be silent. Sitting silently was never fun when it was being done alone. And with his new companionship with Hinata, she was the perfect candidate to accompany him.

Of course he would never admit that out loud...and possibly not even to himself.

The two were so caught up in their own thoughts and their own few hours of contentedness, that they did not notice the pair of scheming green eyes that were watching them walk away with glee.

The sly girl snickered to herself, rubbing her hands together in satisfaction.

"Oh this is going to be _good_."

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A/N: YES! I am officially satisfied with this! Okay…not entirely but I don't think I can change anymore of it without going out of my mind. So yes this is the sequel to Ice Cream and Sake! Like I said above, you don't need to have read that before this but if you want to you can (and you can all leave little reviews too *wink wink*). I mean it's just for background knowledge I guess and it's only three chapters (long chapters). Anyways I thank all the reviewers of my previous story and I hope that with this story, you're all equally if not more satisfied!

Please **REVIEW** and send me any ideas, thoughts or just a few little words here and there. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome however I do NOT tolerate flames. I'll continue this story if I get enough good feedback from all of you and besides, it's only a few lines or words for a review so it doesn't take long!!!

Next chapter, we'll be seeing a whole lot more development for the story and some very important characters come into play! Chapters will probably get longer from now on :)

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! Oh and like I said up there, when you review, please add a $ sign in front so that I know you've read the authors notes.**

Peace out!  
Rex


	2. Chapter 2

Delicious Disaster

Chapter 2: Ready, Set, Go!

She smelled like tea, Sasuke noticed, as she brushed passed him demurely, holding the teapot carefully before setting it down on his table. It was a small table and would normally fit only about four people, six if they squeezed, but it was just enough for one person. So, having Hinata here, sitting so casually across from him, in _his_ apartment, felt quite different. He was hardly used to company outside of his home let alone _in_ it. And yet, he could not help but feel slightly comforted by her presence, as waif and quiet as it was.

He preferred it that way.

Dinner had been a mutually content affair on both parts. As soon as they arrived, Hinata had headed straight for the kitchen, a faintly bemused Sasuke watching her almost determined actions. It was after all a little funny and uncharacteristic for the Hyuuga heiress to act even remotely tough when faced with a new situation, let alone the prospect of being in another's domicile.

And yet she had been something synonymous with brave as she worked her way around his kitchen, occasionally turning to him and asking what his preferences were on the dishes she had decided to make. Her cooking was not half bad at all in his opinion, but he only acknowledged her by finishing everything on his plate, aware of the curious and apprehensive gaze on him.

Even now, her fingers seemed to tense around her cup as he lifted his tea to his lips and took a sip. Honestly, it was only tea and all tea tasted almost the same to him. She need not be so worried. But it was oddly endearing in another sense, even if Sasuke would never ever allow himself to think so…right.

"We should meet here more often," the boy found himself saying before he could even comprehend his own words.

It was only when he heard a high, choking sound that he realised the weight of what he had just said and inwardly smacked himself at his lack of tact. Looking up under his fringe, with a grimace on his lips, he caught the water eyes of his companion who was coughing on her tea and fanning her flushing face with another hand, her eyes closed thankfully.

He tried to explain himself, albeit stiffly, "Just so that we're not wandering the streets in plain sight of everyone…" His clarification, as lame as it was, seemed bring the girl to understanding for she cleared her throat with much effort and took a few calming breaths before looking up at him, with those pale eyes of hers and nodded.

"If that w-works for you, S-Sasuke…"

Judging by how her blush had not died down, and the way she kept her eyes averted from him, he could tell that she still had trouble saying his name. Still, he could not help but shake his head, with a ghost of a smile, at how even the little things seemed to bring discomfort to her.

Despite it all however, she had come a long way from constantly stuttering, crying and bashful wreck she had been when they sat down for their first ice cream together. He was almost…_proud_ at her accomplishments, no matter how insignificant they were to anyone else.

The moment Sasuke placed his empty cup of tea down, he looked up at her from across the table and sent her a small nod, effectively drawing her up from her seat, her eyes immediately mirroring recognition as she picked up his empty cup and brought it to the kitchen.

But before she had the chance to turn the tap on, she felt a light hand on her shoulder.

"Leave it, I'll do it when I get back."

The girl turned around, a small frown on her forehead. "It's really not a problem, Sasu-"

"It's fine," he cut in smoothly, heaving her bag onto his shoulder as he made his way to the door. "You should be going home; just in case your family decides to check on you."

She looked back at him for a few moments, moments during which Sasuke was wondering if she was going to tell him something like she wanted to stay longer. And as baffling as it was, he almost wanted her to say so.

The boy frowned to himself at his bizarre train of thought and pushed it back to the recesses of his mind, focusing instead on the fidgeting girl in front of him.

The small, agreeable smile she gave him after a second or two created a slight stir within his chest, which he forgot all about when she spoke next.

"Okay. I'll make sure I bring _my_ food next time, if it pleases you."

His mouth actually twitched the tiniest amount in gratitude.

"That would be nice."

--

"You're lying!"

"Nope!"

"No, there's just _no_ way that…But…no way! I still can't believe it!"

"I'm telling you, it's what I saw with my own eyes!"

"…But they're like…"

"I know! That's what makes it so _good_! Can you imagine when Naruto finds out?"

"What about _Neji_? Now _that_ is a confrontation I have to see!"

The two girls giggled in utter delight and clapped their hands together excitedly. Sakura had pretty much sailed right through Ino's window and into her bedroom, succeeding in scaring the blonde half to death with those bright gleeful green eyes of hers. The blonde was vaguely reminded of a magpie upon seeing something very shiny.

Before Ino had even the chance to demand what the hell Sakura was doing in her room, had her pinkette friend basically squealed, almost shattering both their ear-drums,

"I SAW HINATA-CHAN AND SASUKE-KUN TOGETHER!"

Now _that_ had got her attention and they spent the next half hour recounting what exactly Sakura had seen and heard and where it was and how it happened and what they were doing and pretty much everything that a proper detective would have mentioned.

Ino had been stunned into silence initially but that gave way a few moments later to the natural girly instinct of curiosity and ultimately, gossip. After all, it wasn't everyday that you heard about a secret tryst with _Uchiha Sasuke_ and _Hyuuga Hinata _of all people.

Well, perhaps 'tryst' was a bit of a strong word. But Sakura had said that they were heading to his _apartment_ and that did make minds wonder. Never had anyone been invited to the former Avenger's home. Not before he became an Avenger and most certainly not after he returned. In fact people were wary around him for a good part of two years after he returned and even now, they still could not thoroughly discard their cautiousness.

Finally, the pink haired girl sighed breathlessly and fell back onto the bed, Ino lying down on her stomach next to her and looking at her curiously.

"You know what I don't get though?"

A blonde brow rose.

"What?"

Sakura struggled to find the right words. It wasn't that she didn't like Hinata, in fact all three girls from the rookie nine were pretty good friends, and it wasn't that she had had a crush on Sasuke in the past. No, that had long since been over. It was more the fact that these two unlikely people were doing something behind everyone's backs. Of all the ninjas in the village, fate seemed to have chosen two people who had practically nothing in common, and despite herself, she actually thought it was fitting.

She finally looked up at her best girl friend contemplatively.

"How could it have happened?"

Ino frowned for a moment before understanding what she meant. She too wondered just how the Uchiha prodigy and the Hyuuga heiress found each other, what it was that had drawn one to the other and under what circumstances it happened. It was after all highly improbable that they just suddenly decided to start dating for the sake of it.

The flower expert shrugged.

"Maybe he bribed her or something. You remember how he was always on about _reviving his clan_. I wouldn't put it past him."

Sakura snorted.

"Frankly, neither would I…but…I don't think that's how it happened. I mean, what about Hinata-chan? She's got practically everything. Why would she need anything from Sasuke-kun?"

"That's true. And I mean from everything we know about her, I don't think she jumped right into his arms either…Ugh! This is so frustrating! I really want to know!"

The girl pouted, resting her chin in her hands as Sakura smiled humouredly at her.

"Do you remember how long it took for her to finally date Naruto?"

Ino laughed and nodded her head excitedly.

"How could I forget? He practically came running to us for advice after we told him she liked him!"

"And then we had to set the first date up for them!"

Ino giggled and fell back next to her friend, a sigh escaping her lips.

"And that was the time everyone suspected Shikamaru and Temari…"

Pink brows furrowed.

"Are you still upset about that? I thought you got over him…Oh, Ino."

The other girl stood up, frustrated.

"No, no! Of course I'm over him. It's just…" she trailed off and looked at her friend in disappointment, "it's just remembering…that's all."

Sakura nodded.

"Of course. Well, maybe you missed that chance, but there will be others."

"And what about you?" Ino asked, not wanting all the focus on her non-existent love life.

Her response was a snort and a roll of green eyes.

"If you know anyone, please let me know." She ran a hand through her hair and pulled Ino back down onto the bed again, her eyes alight with mischief. "For now, let's deal with Hinata-chan and Sasuke-kun."

A thin brow rose at her friend's deliberate aversion but she ignored it and forced a smile which really wasn't hard to do considering the situation at hand.

"First I guess we have to find out _what_ exactly is going on between them. I mean, just so we can get solid proof."

The medic nodded enthusiastically.

"Mm, I agree…we have to catch them _as_ they meet…just so we know tonight wasn't a one-off thing."

Ino quirked a brow.

"How do we plan on doing that though? I mean…we don't even know when they meet. It was pure luck that you caught them tonight."

She stopped talking however when she noticed that plotting glint in Sakura's eyes and narrowed her eyes speculatively.

When she spoke, her voice was low and enveloped with repressed excitement,

"That, my dear Ino-pig, is why we're ninjas. Exactly for this sort of situation."

Blue eyes widened in comprehension.

"You mean we're going to _spy_ on them, Forehead-girl?"

"Absolutely. Things haven't been that busy lately so chances are, most of the missions will be assigned to the older jounin, leaving most of us free. So, we'll just take a pair of Kakashi-sensei's radios and keep each other informed while we watch them!"

There was only one problem though.

"But what about the Byakugan?"

That's right; there was always a chance of Hinata using those special eyes of hers and catching them.

The pink haired girl paused and thought about this, biting her lip in thought before looking up in determination.

"Leave her to me then. There's no way she would use it if she's in a crowd because it would be too difficult for her to differentiate between everyone. You just have to keep an eye on Sasuke-kun."

The blonde agreed. "And chances are they aren't going to be seeing each other during the day, because that would be too risky…so that narrows down our spying to evening and dinner time."

Sakura secretly praised her friend at her spot-on deduction and smiled lightly. This was turning into a whole new game. Not only would it alleviate their boredom but it served as something to talk about _and_ perhaps play a part in.

From what Sakura had seen, the two didn't seem to be even _in_ any kind of relationship other than mutualism. There was no holding hands or smiles or kisses or anything that would suggest even a basic platonic relationship other than the fact that they were caught together and talking. However, she had seen that momentary flash in Sasuke's eyes and the way Hinata had looked up at him demurely, a small smile on her lips as she handed him something to eat.

They were small gestures and far and in between but there was obviously _some_ chemistry between the two. And while they weren't exactly combusting and reacting, who's to say there was no possibility that it could happen?

This would certainly be one of the most mismatched yet oddly fitting couple that Konoha had ever seen.

And Sakura and Ino wouldn't be the girls they were if they didn't interfere and witness it first-hand.

--

The young Uchiha sat in the tea shop, opting for the counter because it was further away from the few filled tables. He had just got back from training by himself – as was his usual routine, and decided to stop by one of Konoha's hidden treasures: The Usagi Den.

He remembered the first time he came here, less than a month ago with his recent female companion. Hinata had suggested taking him somewhere he had probably never been before and ever since she had brought him here, he had been coming here almost everyday since. It was a nice place, small, quaint, wooden and secluded. Most of the clans would have their tea delivered to them and therefore, while business was good, that left the shop devoid of people most of the time during the day; an excellent condition for the Uchiha prodigy.

He lifted his dark red, ceramic cup to his lips and swallowed the warm liquid, his mind instinctively going to the Hyuuga heiress.

Somehow and for reasons he could only partially fathom, he associated Hinata first of all with ice cream, then with sake and finally with tea.

He thoroughly understood why, seeing as they had eaten numerous pints of ice cream together and consumed almost equal amounts of sake bottles _and_ she had always ordered tea to go along with her sake. But still, he found it a little odd that the first things he related her to were food. He did not quite know whether that was a compliment or an insult or just plain weird.

The dark eyed boy narrowed his eyes barely visibly enough to catch and pondered over the lavender eyed girl.

'_I think of…tissues…__**wet**__ tissues…and tears…and then of course those damn blushes!' _Sasuke thought to himself, taking another sip.

'_And then her Byakugan eyes…well, naturally anyone would affiliate any Hyuuga with their Byakugan. But still…hers are…'_

They were what exactly? He did not quite know where his train of thought was leading him to on the topic of her eyes. But he could not think about Hinata without thinking of her eyes. And this time…he was fairly certain that it had nothing to do with her Byakugan at all. Maybe this time it was just her eyes in general. But then he snorted internally.

Hell, eyes were something _everyone_ had. Well, except for blind people…So why the hell would a girl's eyes be so…so…distinctive? No, not just any girl's eyes…_Hyuuga Hinata's _ eyes.

His hand unconsciously tightened its hold on the cup as Sasuke went deeper into his analytical thoughts. It was Hinata for God's sake! She was just a girl who he happened to like and possibly enjoy the company of far more than all the rest. Is that why she stood out? Because he enjoyed being around her? Now normally Sasuke would never admit to actually enjoying the company of another human being, let alone a female human being. But after weeks of being around her, it was just a fact now.

And there was nothing embarrassing about it either. Because they were…_almost_ friends. 'Allies' would be a more fitting term. Because they helped each other by offering each other something. It was almost like symbiosis.

She gave him food and provided him with the necessary amount of conversation, and he offered her his silent and it seemed apparent support by just sitting there minding his own business whenever the girl slipped into her few moments of self-pity and sadness. And the best thing was, he didn't even mind _that _much when she sat too silently for prolonged periods of time, her mind obviously filled with thoughts about her recent break-up.

Because when it started to annoy him, he just said something minutely insulting to take her mind off the fox-boy and bring back her attention to him. He was after all a very selfish person and didn't really like sharing for too long. Some people would call it childish and immature but he preferred to think of it as a required trait in order to get what he wanted _and_ keep it.

Yes indeed the Uchiha's were known for their possessiveness – which in his own opinion branched down to them from the Hyuuga's themselves along with their almost obscene pride and slightly insane ideals. Thankfully though the more obsessive traits had died down over the decades leaving only bare traces of evidence that they were there in the first place.

Long, masculine fingers were drumming the top of the table when a figure suddenly slid onto the seat next to him. At first he paid the newcomer no attention whatsoever. That was until he heard this person softly order a cup of iced, green tea.

Stygian orbs widened a fraction as Sasuke snapped his head in the person's direction, nearly gaping at the dark haired girl who turned to look at him sheepishly from under her fringe.

He blinked at Hinata for a few moments, amusement threatening to tug at the corner of his lips, before he turned to the front again, lifting his tea to his lips.

"Normally, when two people are secretly seeing each other, they wouldn't meet out in the open."

A small smile made its way onto Hinata's lips as her tea was placed in front of her.

"We didn't exactly meet though S-Sasuke. We just happen to b-be in the same tea shop."

He almost chuckled at that. In comparison to a few nights ago, she had gained a surprising amount of confidence when talking to him. He found himself rather pleased by this.

"Did you just get b-back from t-training?" she asked, a small flush in her cheeks showing that she too had just finished with her teammates. He nodded in response, noticing, through the corner of his eye, how she had chosen to tie her hair up in a ponytail today.

"Your hair is different," he commented lightly.

The girl blushed and tugged at the end of the short ponytail. Her hair, being only at shoulder length, was still a little too short to tie and so a number of strands had fallen out, making her look a little messy but pleasing nonetheless.

"Is…does it look…bad?" she asked, self-consciously.

Sasuke almost frowned at this. _'Why should she care what I think? It's just hair…'_

Not knowing what to say, he settled for a lame, "It's fine…."

Unsurprisingly enough, this was enough to procure a smile of relief from her and she nodded gratefully and continued to drink her iced tea.

"It seems that you find this place…agreeable?"

He nodded once more.

"I do."

By now, Hinata was used to his short, monosyllabic replies and found them almost comforting because other than people like Neji, whom she hardly ever spent much time around, this was sort of evidence that she was near Sasuke and that he was around. It was not hard to admit that she found his presence reassuring, possibly because he was the only one who really knew much about what happened between her and Naruto. That and he was possibly the only boy who could make her smile by insulting her and ordering her around.

Maybe she was developing a soft spot for the Uchiha's childish ways but instead of annoying, the girl found them rather endearing.

"Are you free tonight?" he asked suddenly.

Lavender eyes widened in surprise and a small flush made its way onto her cheeks.

"T-tonight?"

The boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"No, next month."

She winced slightly and pursed her lips in apology as she answered, softly,

"N-nothing's happening at home t-tonight so yes…I suppose I'm free…"

He silently triumphed.

"Perfect. My place then," he said, before she could open her mouth, "I'll meet you here at seven."

"O-or I could just go to your place…that way there would be less chance of anyone c-catching us together…"

He gave a fake sigh of contempt.

"Does it embarrass you that much to be around me, Hinata?"

Pale eyes widened largely as she shook her head furiously, "N-no! S-Sasuke, that wasn't wh-what I m-meant at all! I-"

"Kidding," he murmured, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he looked at her with eyes glittering with amusement. Hinata closed her mouth immediately and a crimson blush overtook her cheeks until she closely resembled a tomato. He knew he ought to feel bad about playing with her the way he did, but she just took things so literally and so personally sometimes that it was hard not to find some entertainment in it. And it was all out of jest anyway and even _she_ knew that. Although that did not stop her from falling into his traps almost every time. She was just to naïve for her own good sometimes.

Upon finishing off his tea, he rounded on her, pleased to note that her flush had reduced somewhat.

"So, I'll see you here in a few hours then."

Recovering from her humiliated state, she nodded silently, shyly tugging on one of the drawstring of her jacket's hood. Dark eyes watched the movement of her fingers closely, his usually stoic stare softening briefly before returning to normal.

Hinata noticed his eyes on her before he could swiftly avert them and tilted her head to the side, a little puzzled.

"Is…something wrong?"

Clearing his throat and cursing internally at his diminutive speed, Sasuke turned away dismissively.

"Not really," he told her curtly before standing up. "I should be going back to training now. Later."

With that, he walked away, but not before the Hyuuga girl caught a flash of…_embarrassment?_ Before she could stop herself, she stumbled off the stool clumsily and hurried after him, just before he walked out the door, reaching onto the sleeve at his elbow and effectively halting his movement.

"W-wait! Sasuke…"

He did not turn to look at her for a long time, and with good reason too for he could not let her see his accidental slip of his mask and show her the obvious expression of surprise and _excitement_ that his chiselled face wore. Meanwhile, Hinata herself was red beyond belief and screaming at herself for her stupidity. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she let her hand drop limply from his elbow and she bit her lip nervously.

'_Well…this is new…'_ Sasuke mused before finally recovering and turning around to look down at her squirming form.

"Did you forget something?" he asked bluntly. _'Me, for example…?' _he thought suddenly and then smacked himself.

'_Well yes actually, why did it seem as if you wanted to get leave as soon as possible a few moments ago?'_

The girl cringed at the question that was on the tip of her tongue and forced herself to open her eyes. She had never been very good at lying, but she could not possibly ask him _that_. The girl felt a little hurt by his obvious discomfort and will to leave and she wondered why he had looked so…_twitchy_ – for lack of a better word – earlier.

She certainly hoped that he was not getting tired of spending time with her. Because if he did…she really did not know what she would do. After already being rejected by one boy, and finding comfort in another, even if she wasn't dating him, that would be just too much. And it was at times like these when the dark haired girl cursed her sensitivity and her need for someone to cling to, namely this Uchiha whom she had recently chosen as her support.

Sighing and looking up at him nervously, she asked softly,

"Is…is everything a-alright?"

'_No! I feel like jumping into a pool of ice! And it's all YOUR fault!'_

Now this he did not expect. He repressed a confused frown and instead, folded his arms and stared down at her from the tip of his nose.

"Yes, why do you ask?" he questioned with bland curiosity.

She flinched at his tone and mumbled a soft,

"You seemed d-distracted and…unhappy…"

She knew how stupid and lame that sounded, especially coming from her, but she really could not help being worried about him, for both their sakes. And so, she found it very surprising when she felt heavy pressure on the crown of her head and blinked a few times before realising that it was the young Uchiha's hand. And with that, all her worries ceased, for he always did that to reassure her.

And it worked too.

The girl didn't know what it was about that little notion that eased her mind and calmed her thoughts. Perhaps it was how it was one of the very few ways he decided to physically manifest how much he liked her, whether it could even be called 'like.'

And so when she smiled a small, shy smile and finally looked up at him, she somehow knew that she'd see a trace of a smirk at the very edges of his lips as well as a warm, glint in his eyes.

"You worry too much."

"Sorry…"

He let his hand drop to his side and shook his head as he turned around to walk out again.

"I'll see you tonight, Hinata."

Her heart skipped a beat when he said her name and Hinata found herself smiling wistfully as she watched him leave.

--

Green eyes met blue in stunned silence.

Sakura spoke first.

"Well…if _that_ isn't chemistry right there then I don't know what is."

Ino snorted and folded her arms, keeping a close eye on the retreating Sasuke.

"Although I think there's room for much improvement on the romance part…these two are…" She shook her head in frustration.

"Oblivious?"

"Pretty much."

"How hard do you think Sasuke would hit us if we interfered?"

"So hard we'd probably be dead before we realised he was after us."

"Ah."

The two had been walking towards Ino's family flower shop when they noticed Sasuke walk down a small road and had decided to follow to see where he was headed. And it was just their luck, as they watched him enter a tea shop, to find Hinata walk into the same shop only a few minutes later.

From their distance, even if they observed their interaction through the large, open window, all they could do was attempt to read lips and interpret facial expressions. It was a whole lot harder than it looked though, and more than once the two loud kunoichis got into an argument over who was saying what.

The blonde turned to her pink haired friend with an exasperated frown.

"You know what? This feels so much more dangerous than some mission."

* * *

A/N: Alrighty everybody! This chapter is finally done :) and it's a good four thousand five hundred and eighty-seven words long…I hope you're happy with it :D Next chapter, we get to see another very important character…MAYBE two if I'm feeling up to writing over six thousand words…Anyways thank you to everybody who has reviewed! I was ecstatic when I read them! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! :D I'll try to post the next chapter by next Friday if I can manage it, but if not, I may have to post my chapters every two weeks…December is a busy month….

**REVIEW PLEASE!! :D **

Peace out!  
Rex


	3. Chapter 3

Delicious Disaster

Chapter 3: Masculinity and Chauvinism

"Oi! Ino-pig! Your elbow's digging into my rib!"

"Shut up, you idiot! They'll hear us!"

"Heh, they're too busy making eyes at each other."

"…Are you blind? Looks more like they're _afraid_ to catch pink-eye."

"They both had their eyes activated earlier…"

"Hm. That is true."

Both Sakura and Ino settled back behind the roof of the apartment buildings across Sasuke's, and the woman below them was probably wondering if she had squirrels living in her attic from all the noise they were making. For a couple of kunoichi's, they were not that stealthy today and that probably had something to do with the extreme excitement over the beauty of "young love" as Lee liked to call it. The had wondered earlier on, how the green clad boy would react to hearing about their new discovery but then suggested not, considering his relationship with Neji _and_ his _romantic_ relationship with Sakura.

That was before he dumped her.

Sakura, being too stunned at the time, only realised afterwards that he had mentioned something about Sakura being the only one for him, but him not being up to her standards and that it was not at all her fault but that he simply could not be with someone when he knew he was not good enough for her. It had taken her about an hours discussion with Ino, Naruto _and_ Tenten for her to deduce what he meant. And that had left her feeling even worse and even guiltier.

The green eyed girl placed the eyes of the binoculars securely to her own and watched Sasuke and Hinata interact in the kitchen. The boy was leaning over the counter that separated the living room from the cooking area while the girl chopped some vegetables and looked up smilingly occasionally whenever the boy said something.

The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched when she saw this and something light fluttered in her chest as she watched their interaction. Pulling the binoculars away, she handed them to her blonde friend.

"Ino…" she began, unable to come up with the words. Instead, one look at her softly smiling face, made the other girl take a look. Pale brows knitted together as Ino focused on the couple and a few moments later that melted into a look of pure awe.

"Well, would you look at that?" she breathed, her mouth curling into a disbelieving smile. "I wonder if they're as aware of their own progress as we are."

The pinkette snorted.

"Doubt it, we've been watching them for three weeks straight and despite their progress…it's a little slow…" Placing a finger to her lips, she frowned with disappointment, shaking her head lightly. "I mean we've already figured out that they don't see each other everyday. And for two people who are obviously really into each other that's a little pathetic. And then there's the whole eye contact issue. Pink eye is right. Plus, Sasuke's being as chauvinistic as usual…maybe less though, considering he's around Hinata-chan."

Shaking with laughter next to her, Ino patted her friend on the back, amused at her obsession with the situation. It was a funny thing really; two girls who were spying on their former crush and trying their best to be devious in getting him together with another girl who showed absolutely _no_ interest in him whatsoever previously. Who would've thought?

Cerulean eyes sparkled with warmth.

"At least things seem to be going smoothly for them. Sometimes I wonder though," she paused, a small frown on her forehead, "if they'll get anywhere at all or if they're just going to…drift."

"Or if someone might come along and ruin it…" Sakura finished solemnly with a sigh.

The blonde nodded. "It'd be a real shame if they didn't get serious. I mean, of all the girls, no offense to you of course, I think Hinata would probably be the best for him…"

The medic expert nodded surprising mind-manipulator a little. "I agree, she's got the most patience _and_ Sasuke-kun actually seems to enjoy being around her. He was never like that around us then, and even now he's pretty indifferent. And _we're_ on the same team."

They both sighed and turned their attention back to the two in the window. The dark haired boy seemed to be drinking a cup of tea that Hinata had just gracefully placed in front of him, that blush ever present. At this point, neither kunoichi knew whether it was because of the heat from the kitchen or whether it was _him_. They really would not have been surprised if it veered towards the latter or both even.

Having spied on their targets for the previously mentioned three weeks, both girls had figured out a fair number of things; from the fact that Hinata always seemed to be bringing Sasuke his dinner to the fact that they hardly talked and when they did, Hinata blushed, Sasuke drank more tea and the overall unresolved sexual tension shot through the roof and was enough to send Sakura and Ino into fits of frustrated ranting.

All of the above and that things were apparently going way too slow for their liking.

Well, one had to remind oneself that for two hyper kunoichi's, this was the equivalent to Kakashi's obsession with Icha Icha novels.

--

"Jasmine. I know it is."

Feminine lips twitched as Hinata tried not to smile, both apologetic and amused at Sasuke's determination to decipher what sort of tea he was currently drinking. The girl had bought him a box from the Usagi Den the last time she had visited and since then, he had tried countless times to figure out what sort of tea it was. The box had no information at all and was basically blank except for a small picture of a rabbit. Figures.

The Uchiha sighed and grabbed his cup, downing its warm contents in a dash, annoyed and defeated.

They had finished dinner over an hour ago and while the girl skittered around the kitchen cleaning up the dishes and brewing more tea, he had sat on the counter, swinging his legs and making very small talk with her as she worked. Watching her move around with small – sometimes clumsy – steps brought that weird warm feeling time and time again and after a while, he began to realise that those weird feelings were coming up more and more frequently than before.

'_What the hell does she put in this tea…? Nah, she wouldn't do that. Maybe that tea shop owner does voodoo…'_

His musings had also begun to turn extremely strange in his opinion. Butterflies and rainbows were one thing to be thinking of, yet it was a whole other thing to be imagining about certain dark haired girls with pale eyes, running his fingers through thick hair and…

On more than one occasion, he had caught himself and choked on whatever substance was in his mouth. The Hyuuga girl had panicked, thinking that her food was bad and he had to spend the next half hour attempting to sooth her frazzled nerves and worried self. He hated seeing her worried, especially when _he_ was the reason for it. It made him feel guilty somewhat, as if he should be extra careful whenever he went for a mission, just so that he would not come back with a dozen bruises and cuts and have her near tears.

He vaguely wondered whether she really _would_ be in tears if he came back battered to bits.

'_Hm…next time there's a mission, I think I'll try it…I think a bloody lip would be obvious enough. Maybe a kunai stab in the back too...' _he thought to himself and then wondered if he was becoming crazy as well as masochistic.

He looked up at that moment, only to slow down to a pause when he noticed that she had finished and was drying her hands on a kitchen towel. Her shoulder-length hair fell around her face as she looked down at her wet digits, lips pursed slightly in concentration. Releasing a breath he did not realise he was holding made the girl look up and catch his eye.

Now _he_ felt like hyperventilating.

Lavender eyes blinked once before Hinata shot him a sweet smile and averted her eyes back down, the smile settling to a small quirk.

Onyx orbs stared at her for a few seconds longer and before Sasuke could help himself, he turned his face to the side to hide the tinge of redness that crept up his face. He cursed silently at his own lack of discipline, felling both humiliated and aggravated by the heat he could feel, radiating off his face.

'_Crap, shit, bugger, damn it! What the hell is this?'_

"Sasuke?"

He turned to her and then immediately wished he hadn't when he noticed her walking towards him curiously.

'_Really, Hinata, this isn't helping my hormones at all! Stay away before I spontaneously combust! Nooo!'_

Her eyes widened when she noticed the flush in his cheeks and, forgetting her own shyness, stood directly in front of where he sat on the counter and reached up to touch his forehead. It was cool to his warm skin and he just felt himself get five degrees warmer under her touch.

'_On second thought…'_

Oh how he wanted to let his eyes droop close and just revel in her soft, delicate, petal-like touch. And then he paused mid-way, pondering on how poetic that sounded. Femininity was a disease he decided.

"Do you feel ill?" she asked, both hands sliding to his cheeks, Hinata's eyes filled with concern.

'_No actually, I'm feeling rather tingly. I never thought you'd actually touch me like this but I'm not going to tell you that because I think I might just scare you and that would leave me going hungry…And without you…to keep me from boredom of course…right.'_

So much for masochistic and crazy. But he really did not mind her hands on his face, the way she stood on her tiptoes to try and get closer to him, the way she bit her lip in worry. He really could not get his damned voice to work with her being so close, so close that he could feel her breath on his neck.

Before he knew it, his own hands were on her arms, moving up slowly to where her hands were cupping his cheek. The young Hyuuga did not seem to realise what was happening until he had placed his hands directly over hers. It appeared that she completely forgot to blush, for she just stared at him, pale orbs looking into hazy, heavy lidded ashen orbs.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, someone was shouting at him, scolding him for allowing himself these few seconds of innocent pleasure, being able to feel someone other than a medic squad assessing him. And during those seconds, he just gazed back at her, evenly, a rare shade of warmth in his stare and his lips were struggling to say something, anything to make this last just a little longer.

'_Ah, bloody conscience…ruins everything…_' he mumbled internally.

Masculine fingers laced with small, scarred, feminine ones before gently pulling them away from his skin, immediately breaking contact once he hand brought her hands to her side.

"I'm fine," he whispered, sliding off the counter and patting her head as he walked towards the sink. "It's just a little warm in here." Not the best excuse in his opinion, but it kept him somewhat sane, at least until he had walked her home and then came back to his apartment where he would later fall into a breathless heap on the couch and revisit this incident a million times over. Oh, yes he was definitely going to think about all of this later tonight. Perhaps some late night musings might help him get in touch with whatever was happening to him. Then again, he himself knew he had a knack for denial.

All these weird physical manifestations of his emotionally stunted self were seriously beyond him. Seeing Tsunade would only be a one way ticket to a truth serum, forcing him to admit things like _when_ these feelings started and _who_ he was with at the time… Or she might just send him for therapy with couple mind-messing medical nin who would then relay their information to the Hokage, who in turn would tell _Sakura_ who would tell Naruto, who would in turn tell everyone else.

'_Unless…Naruto….'_

While Sasuke was having an internal conversation with himself, the dark haired girl stood still in her place, not having moved since her friend had just walked past. She gripped at her hands, bringing the knuckle of one to her lips and biting down to keep herself from squeaking a sound. Her heart was still racing from when his hands had closed around hers, his fingers intertwined with her own and fitting ever so nicely. They had been so warm, and she was almost certain that he had hesitated before removing them from his hold.

He had smelled like burning wood, possibly from his training earlier. He had always been known to be a good fire element user. The boy's hands had been rough yet gentle when they handled her and the most troubling of all was that she actually _missed_ it when he let go. Shivering as she remembered just how gentle he had been, Hinata closed her eyes and forced those thoughts to the very back of her mind, knowing full well how silly she was being, dwelling on non-existent things. But at the same time, a bitterness rose in her throat as she secretly wished that they weren't so non-existent at all.

--

Dark, mahogany hair, bound lowly at the back of the boy's head, shone as the mid-afternoon rays fell, streaming through the window of the restaurant. His skin was barely flushed from the hours spent training before but the cool, tall glass of iced tea was still a treat to his warmer form. He had come back a few days ago from an A-rank mission with Lee and a few of the newer Chuunin as a training exercise for them and was glad to be back in Konoha. He remembered asking himself if _he_ was that reckless at that young age but shrugged it off.

Pulling his hair out of it's tie, he ran a hand through his long strands and allowed himself a long sigh, a brief display of emotion and the real fatigue he felt. The Byakugan wielder was, after all, as susceptible to exhaustion as everyone else, despite his refined composure and uncanny ability to put on a placid front. Taking another sip from his tea, it was then that two girls walked into the shop and he immediately recognised them as Blondie and Pinkie.

The blonde was on Shikamaru's team if he remembered correctly, and he had an understated respect for the boy, considering he was the first to become a Chuunin. However he really did not know much about the girl other than she was part of the Yamanaka clan who specialised in mind-manipulation and…flowers…

'_How the hell are they related?'_

He immediately related Pinkie as being a medic _as well as_ being part of a team consisting of Naruto, the Uchiha and the painter who was always perversely dressed. He vaguely recalled his name being something along the lines of Sari...something like that.

Pinkie immediately caught his eye and waved, walking towards him and taking a seat next to him.

"Neji-kun! Did you just come back from training?"

He nodded to both her and the blonde who had taken a seat the other side of him. Perfect, now there was no room for escape. He cringed at his harshness but he was in no mood at all really to be conversing with two girls, especially since he knew these two had a knack for verbalising.

The two girls ordered their drinks before turning to him, Pinkie with an expectant smile on her face.

"So, what's been happening back at the Hyuuga estate?" she prompted, Neji assuming that it was her attempt at jesting with him by trying to sound interested in clan affairs.

He snorted amiably and sipped his drink.

"Apart from the fact that we discovered yet another cure for the Hokage, nothing much."

Clan affairs were so boring and talking about them was even more dull so he rarely discussed anything about the Main family and the Branch family unless it was to Hinata who had a tendency to make even his lowly status as a Branch member seem like it was a shining gold badge. Hidden pride swelled in his chest when he thought about how she always seemed to think so highly of him, despite her own ranking being way above him. Seeing as she was most probably going to be taking her own role as Head of the Main Branch in a few years time, any praise from her made him feel way above the elders, because if she believed it so, then it just was.

Ah the beauty of connections.

Maybe he'd even be appointed as her advisor. That seemed like the most logical step in his opinion.

"Oh yes, I heard about that. We're testing that back at the hospital some time next week," Pinkie exclaimed, seeming very much impressed. All the more for his ego.

He gave a curt nod and sipped more of his tea before remembering something. These two were the girls that Hinata had said she'd been going out with lately. The boy thought it was a good thing for her to finally be making some female friends since the only other people she really talked to were her own teammates and in his honest opinion, they were not exactly the most appropriate companions for a girl such as herself. Granted that she was comfortable around them, he thought it best that she finally socialised amongst her own gender.

This was especially the case since he had heard about her split from Naruto. Seeing her so distraught and upset had tugged on his own heartstrings despite himself. But when he had gone to confront the boy about his actions, found that he did not have the heart to upon seeing him looking equally as upset. Instead he had sighed and sat down next to the bitter looking fox and unwillingly watched as he attempted to down an entire bottle of wine – stolen from Tsunade's office. He had said that it was what the dog boy had told him to do as it was apparently "the image."

But while he had listened – or pretended to anyway – to Naruto's lamentations his own cousin had had no one. And he felt guilty about that. So Neji supposed he owed these two girls _some_ gratitude at least.

Turning to the pink haired girl, reluctantly of course, the Hyuuga offered in a stoic tone, "I would like to extend my thanks to the both of you." He turned to Blondie as well to let her know he had not forgotten.

Blue eyes met green in puzzlement.

A dark brow twitched and he explained himself.

"For…_looking after_ Hinata-sama." Oh _God_, this was doing hell to his masculinity…

Again all he received were blank stares and this time he was wondering if they were just stupid or if he had got the wrong Pinkie and Blondie. How many other pastel coloured girls were there in Konoha who _knew_ his cousin anyway?

"She told me that she has been spending time with you. And I must admit that your…_companionship_ with her has made a difference ever since she and Naruto…" he trailed off, seeing how their faces seemed to grow more confused at first, and then dawn with realisation before their eyes locked, him still between them and some unspoken nervous understanding was met between them as they bit their lips.

Obviously something about what he had told them about Hinata went initially passed them but then they seemed to come to some conclusion or another and apparently it concerned his cousin. Now he definitely had to find out what they knew. Perhaps she had _not_ been visiting these two as she said she had? She was lying? The thought struck him before he could quell his queries and the boy immediately inwardly cringed at his lack of faith in the girl.

That was a very uncharacteristic thing for Hinata to do. And whatever it was that had somehow brought both Pinkie and Blondie to a worried state, he had to discover.

Pale eyes narrowed slightly as he posed his question, a slightly threatening trace in his tones. "Are my impressions wrong?" He glanced back and forth between the two and they immediately broke contact with each other and faced him with largely fake smiles on their faces, their voices laced with slight panic.

"No, no! We love having Hinata over!" Pinkie exclaimed, waving her hands around exaggeratedly.

"She's amazing company and we're glad to help her get over Naruto!" Blondie added, nodding fervently and laughing falsely.

Brownie – _Neji _ – twitched.

--

The smell of cream, strawberries and something that smelled sticky sweet engulfed the kitchen in a mix of delicate flavours and seemingly difficult and time-consuming recipes. The dark haired girl who was working these flavours and ingredients however, felt that the task was much less intricate than people often made it out to be. She smiled to herself and sucked on a strawberry, savouring the tangy juice that coated her tongue.

Hinata was getting a dessert ready for when she met up with Sasuke this evening but even she was not immune to stealing a few bits of meringue and pieces of fruit every now and then. Humming softly to herself, the girl pulled out a container and began layering the strawberries, cream and then the crushed pieces of meringue until she had several layers piled up to the top. Setting the lid on, she was about to turn and place it in the fridge when she glanced up and just about screamed shortly.

Hinata jumped, eyes wide and one hand over her mouth as she breathed heavily, staring in utter disbelief at the window and the dark haired boy leaning through on his elbows, appearing as nonchalant and stoic as ever to most, except for the ostensibly surprised girl who took note of the glimmer of amusement in his dark orbs. Of all people, Hinata had _not_ expected Sasuke to be leaning into the kitchen as if it were the most natural thing in the world, donning that complacent look of his that made her already frazzled nerves freeze. Honestly, did he _have_ to act as if he couldn't be caught by the Hyuuga guards or by somebody more threatening? Sometimes his self-confidence wore her out and she just wanted to give him a bit of a shake.

Spinning around quickly, she recovered and stuffed the container into the fridge before whirling onto him and whispering shrilly,

"What are you doing here?"

That shrug made her almost want to strangle him. Now if only she could find the actual will to do it…

"Just…dropping in," he rolled, leaning in further so his elbows rested on the counter which she was working on earlier.

Of all the stupid and reckless things to do, he just _had_ to sneak into the Hyuuga estate. Oh God, if Neji found out, he would be furious. Staring at him in exasperation, her hands dropped limply to the side, Hinata made a small sound of protest and disbelief, flushing a brilliant shade of scarlet. _Lovely_. This was not helping with the situation one bit. Shaking her head slowly, she bent towards him, eyes wide with anxiety.

"You shouldn't _be_ here!" she whispered, looking behind her and then behind him cautiously. _"_If you're caught-"

"I won't get caught," Sasuke stated smoothly, eyes twinkling before he activated his Sharingan. "Really, Hinata, have more faith in me."

"B-but-!" she protested and he cut in again, leaning closer and narrowing his eyes teasingly.

"Relax, seriously. Here, have a strawberry."

Hinata looked down to his open hand where the red fruit was resting innocently and blinked a few times.

Her dark brows knitted together quizzically. "I don't wan-mmph!" exclaimed Hinata as the boy casually placed it into her mouth, jumping up onto the ledge of the window, as she tried not to choke, and into the kitchen where he walked over to the fridge, pulled out the container she had filled, turning towards her when he asked,

"This is for tonight?"

The girl nodded dumbly, cringing as she swallowed a large piece of fruit, a few drops of juice falling down her chin. With a swipe of his thumb, and profuse blushing on her part, he wiped the drips away, bringing his finger to his mouth absent-mindedly as he tried to analyse the contents of the container. Lavender eyes were the size of saucers as she stared agape at the action, bringing a finger to her own lips in pure shock.

Sasuke examined the outside of the clear container and 'hmm'd before nodding, satisfied and shoving it back into the fridge. He had come here out of sheer boredom, having just returned from a weekend mission with only one destination in mind; wherever Hinata was. Maybe she was an addiction...pfft! Yeah right.

With extreme effort, the girl cleared all thoughts of masculine fingers, strawberries and Sharingans and shook her head, asking waveringly,

"H-how did you manage to get past the g-guards?"

He shrugged casually, leaning against the fridge and looking at her, noting the large, oversized t-shirt she was wearing and the knee-length cotton shorts underneath. A pair of pale yellow socks finished the rather impishly charming look and he had to avert his eyes to her face to keep himself from staring.

"You don't have guards around the back at exactly half past four. I jumped over then."

'_Obviously…'_ he thought to himself, refraining from rolling his eyes.

But he paused when he noticed something flash behind pale orbs. He could not tell much from her expression since it was still worried and fidgety but that spark in her eyes made him almost…alarmed.

With a deep breath, Hinata asked in a slow, level tone, and he swore that it was almost mocking,

"A-and what would you have done, had there been any guards once you j-jumped over the fence?"

'_She's…angry…Ha! That's a laugh!'_

Folding his arms and giving her a chiding smirk, he answered with much poise,

"Run."

Heat flashed up her cheeks – and behind her usually warm orbs – as she huffed in contempt and whispered furiously, her eyes wide,

"And what about _me?_" She gasped at her outburst and blushed immediately, hands flying to her mouth.

Sasuke almost frowned, a little put out that she was worried about her own safety. He thought she would be quite secretly glad to see him – not to mention he thought that she would be worrying sick over him now. That would actually be quite funny, considering that she would probably have to run him off somewhere should anyone come around.

"I wouldn't have told them that I was visiting you. I'm not _trying_ to get you in trouble."

Hinata blinked at him and then an almost frustrated expression came over her and Sasuke actually allowed his brows to knit together in confusion. Women were so bloody confusing! It was as if they changed their minds every ten seconds! What the-!

"That's n-not what I…meant…" she finished lamely, looking at the ground in embarrassment and rubbing her arm.

"Well, what _did_ you mean then?" he snapped before he could stop himself. The Uchiha boy immediately regretted it though when he saw the flinch and the way her body seemed to shy away from him, a feminine lip being bitten to soreness.

"Y-youre…you're Uchiha Sasuke…" she mumbled at a loss.

"No kidding."

'_Ah, shit! Stop taking it out on her! Bloody mouth! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not really all that sorry but "I'm guilty" doesn't really cut it…'_

Hyuuga eyes met deep red Sharingan orbs reluctantly as she said in a soft voice,

"Everyone knows you. The guards might have told someone and…you'd b-be taken in for questioning…and…" She looked away again, her cheeks a violent shade of vermillion.

It took Sasuke a few moments to read behind her words, and when he did, his eyes widened a fraction in surprise and then disbelief. It was almost laughable really. Here he had been thinking that she had only wanted to stay out of trouble when in fact…

"You were worried that you wouldn't see me again."

It was a statement, not a question, and the boy could just _feel_ the amusement tugging at his lips and bubbling in his chest as Hinata nodded, lowering her head even further. His mind didn't want to admit that he was actually dreadfully flattered by how much she cared but some other sundry part of his body fought quite hard for domination.

Straightening and composing himself, he spoke again, this time smugly, his voice dripping with complacence.

"Did you honestly believe you could lose me that easily?"

Hinata started and looked up, cocking her head to the side, an action that made his fingers twitch and then curl as he spoke again, to rid himself of that concurring, strange sensation in his body. Maybe "lose" was not the best of words…it wasn't as if she _owned_ him or anything…

"Trust me when I say that they could place guards all around your room and I'd still be able to kidnap you."

'_Okay, definitely the wrong choice of words…I'm not a stalker…or a pervert…honestly…Crap!'_

But Hinata did not appear to extract anything from his words as she continued to stare at him, seeming to probe him with her eyes, deciphering his words and figuring that it was safe territory again. He was no longer angry or tightly strung, so she ventured a small smile and asked gently,

"And if the guards were…_in_ my room?"

And of course, her innocent yet boldly posed question impressed him yet again. He was actually quite fond of times like these when she would tease him, test him and prod him with a gentleness that held even more power and strength than one of Naruto's jibes or Shikamaru's sarcastic comments. Hers were of course a lot more indulgent than whatever came out the mouths of the other ninja, not to mention he enjoyed her existence a fair amount more as well.

Repressing a grin, he answered, equally as teasingly, despite the blank look on is face,

"We'd be gone before they realised."

The laugh that escaped her lips was like music to his ears after the previously tense atmosphere and she smiled dazzlingly at him and shook her head in exasperation.

"How c-can you be so sure?" she asked, defeated yet humouring him anyway.

"Because," he answered simply, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. _Anything's_ possible."

The girl considered his words, not answering for the longest time as she looked at him with warmth, beseeching him carefully. He seemed awfully sure of himself and the girl didn't quite know whether to be impressed by his confidence or whether she wanted to scold him for boasting.

Shooting her a pointed look, he drawled before she had the chance to speak,

"And don't go thinking otherwise, you'll only hurt yourself."

'_Or someone else if you happen to be carrying anything sharp or heavy.'_

It was her turn to look mildly resentful. Yes, perhaps some scolding might do some good in the long run. She may be exceedingly shy but she was getting better and by far, she was _still_ a Hyuuga who was going to be the Head of the clan one day.

"And you should have more faith in me," she blurted before she could stop herself from keeping the harshness out of her tone, biting her lip once the words were out.

Sasuke's lips twitched lightly. This was quite intriguing. He vaguely wondered how far he could go with this...He did _love_ riling her up after all.

"Oh trust me, Hinata, I do have faith in you. I wouldn't let you cook for me otherwise."

Pale orbs narrowed.

Perhaps his chauvinism needed a bit of tweaking. And despite herself, Hinata was quite certain _she_ wanted to be the one doing it.

* * *

A/N: Okay guys I know this is...a week or so late (shoots self) but I've been busy moving and stuff and yeah...Christmas is coming and all and I'm dying of overexposure to dust mites, boxes and dirty, new apartments. So please forgive me for this late chapter! Anyways, I hope you like it. Thanks again to all my reviewers! Next chapter will focus almost entirely on Sasuke and Hinata with a bit from Neji, Sakura and an even tinier amount from Ino. I have it pretty much planned out now so I hope you like! :D Oh and come of you might have seen this posted a few hours earlier. I did post it but then I took it down again to edit something I saw only AFTER I posted...ehehe sorry! XD

Now, you guys know the drill, **REVIEW!!!**

Peace out!  
Rex


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